Substantial numbers of Asian-Americans served in America's armed forces during
World War II, but the total number is unknown. Some 25,000 Japanese-Americans had
proved their loyalty in uniform. More than 6,000 Nisei (first-generation, American-born
Japanese) trained as interpreters and translators at the Army's Military Intelligence
Service (MIS) Language School in Minnesota and 3,700 MIS linguists served in combat.
The U.S. Army's 442d Regimental Combat Team (RCT), comprised of about 4,500 Japanese-Americans,
fought heroically in Italy and Central Europe. The unit received more than 18,000
individual decorations and seven Presidential Unit Citations. More than 20,000 Chinese
Americans served in the armed forces, many as integrated members of Army units.
Smaller numbers of Filipino-Americans and Korean-Americans formed small units for
the nation's war effort.

Numbers Served and Their Jobs

Unlike in World War II when there was the Japanese-American 442d RCT, there were
no separate Asian-American units during the Korean War. The Department of the Army
dropped the designation "Asian-American" after World War II, so even an approximate
number for the Korean War has not been determined. But the National Japanese-American
Historical Society has estimated that 5,000 Nisei served in Korea with American
forces and concluded that 213 of them lost their lives. Several units did remain
predominantly Asian-American like the 100th Battalion, 442d Infantry, U.S. Army
Reserve and the 5th Regimental Combat Team, both from Hawaii.

Nisei in the Military Intelligence Service

When the Korean War began, many Nisei were among the first American troops sent
to the peninsula. The United States lacked Korean translators, and because Japanese
was the language mandated during Japan's colonial domination of Korea (1910–45),
Nisei soldiers were able to provide valuable linguistic support. During the Korean
War, Nisei in the Military Intelligence Service served as interpreters, interrogators
and translators and provided other linguistic support. During the Korean conflict,
there were more Nisei in higher enlisted ranks, in company grade and in field grade
ranks than had been the case during World War II.

Paul Hosoda volunteered for the 442d Regimental Combat Team in July 1943 and
served with that unit until he was injured. After the war, he became a unit administrator
for the Idaho National Guard Combat Engineer Company. He was appointed a warrant
officer when his unit was activated in August 1950 and sent to Korea. Hosoda served
in both Korea and Japan as an administrative officer, prisoner-of-war interrogation
officer and interpreter/translation officer.

Shigeo Uchino, a native Hawaiian, began a 30-year career with the Military Intelligence
Service in 1945. Uchino was assigned to Korea for one year beginning in October
1950. In addition to earning the Purple Heart, he was awarded the Bronze Star for
Valor and the Combat Infantry Badge.

Asian-Americans in Combat Units

Many Asian-Americans also served in combat units in Korea. Some were recognized
for bravery on the battlefield.

Chew-Een Lee, the son of Chinese immigrants, first enlisted in the Marine Corps
in 1944 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1946. Before hostilities broke
out in Korea, First Lieutenant Lee served with the 1st battalion, 7th Marines. As
a platoon commander in that unit, Lee received America's second highest combat award,
the Navy Cross. On Nov. 2–3, 1950, Lee's platoon came under heavy attack.
Despite being outnumbered, Lee exposed himself to fire as he personally reconnoitered
the area to better re-deploy his machine gun posts within the defensive perimeter.
He reorganized his unit and moved up the enemy-held slope. Despite serious wounds,
he pressed forward ultimately driving the hostile forces from the area. Lee's brothers
also served.

Young Oak Kim, a second-generation Korean-American, fought as a young officer
with the 442d RCT in Europe during World War II. The Army asked Kim to return to
active duty after the Korean War began because of his fluency with the Korean language.
Kim agreed, but he wanted assignment with a combat unit rather than as a linguist.
Major Kim commanded the 1st Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, and 7th Infantry
Division and was in Korea for a year. He remained in the Army after the Korean War
and retired as a colonel in 1972.

Asian-American Medal of Honor Recipients

Several Asian-Americans who served in the U.S. Army in Korea received the Medal
of Honor. Two of these men were members of the 7th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry
Division: Corporal Hiroshi H. Miyamura of Company H, a Nisei soldier born in Gallup,
New Mexico, and Sergeant Leroy A. Mendonca of Company B, a native of Honolulu.

Photo Caption:
U.S. Marine Corps First Lieutenant Chew-Een Lee received America's
second highest combat award, the Navy Cross, during the Korean War.

Photo Caption:
Sergeant Hiroshi Miyamura, a repatriated prisoner of war, is congratulated by Brigadier General Ralph M. Osborne as he is told he will receive the Medal of Honor.

On the night of April 24, 1951, Miyamura's unit occupied a defensive position
near Taejon, South Korea, when it was attacked by the enemy. As the enemy force
overran the Americans' position, Corporal Miyamura, a machine-gun
squad leader, leaped from his shelter and, in close hand-to-hand combat, killed
10 of the enemy with his bayonet. After the first attack, while Miyamura administered
first aid to the wounded and ordered the evacuation of his men, the enemy dealt
another savage blow. Miyamura delivered devastating fire with his machine gun until
he ran out of ammunition. He then bayoneted his way to a second gun emplacement
and covered the withdrawal of his unit with machine gun fire until his ammunition
was depleted. Miyamura killed more than 50 of the enemy before he was severely wounded
and later captured. He spent 28 months as a prisoner of war and was released in
August 1953. Word of his Medal of Honor was kept secret during his time in captivity
for his protection.

Sergeant Leroy Mendonca's platoon of Company B had captured Hill 586 near Chich-on,
North Korea, on July 4, 1951. A large enemy force assaulted his platoon during the
night, and Mendonca volunteered to remain in an exposed position to cover the platoon's
withdrawal. Under heavy enemy fire, he fired his weapon and hurled grenades at the
enemy. When he ran out of ammunition, Mendonca used his rifle as a club and his
bayonet in hand-to-hand combat. It is estimated he killed 37 enemy soldiers before
falling mortally wounded. Mendonca's bold action stalled the crushing enemy assault,
protected his platoon's withdrawal to secondary positions and enabled his unit to
repel the attack and retain possession of its key hilltop position.

Private First Class Herbert K. Pililaau of Company C, 23d Infantry Regiment,
2d Infantry Division, another Hawaiian native, also received the Medal of Honor
for gallant action. On Sept. 17, 1951, Pililaau's platoon was defending key terrain
on Heartbreak Ridge near Pia-ri, North Korea, against succeeding waves of enemy
troops. Almost out of ammunition, his unit was ordered to withdraw, and Pililaau
volunteered to cover the withdrawal. He fired his automatic weapon into the charging
enemy ranks, threw all of his grenades and finally closed with the enemy in hand-to-hand
combat with a trench knife and bare fists until he was mortally wounded. When the
position was later retaken, more than 40 enemy dead were counted in the area that
Pililaau had defended.

Other Asian-Americans Who Served

Thomas Tang, a Chinese-American, entered the Army in 1942 through the ROTC enlisted
reserves. He served in World War II and was recalled into action with the outbreak
of hostilities on the Korean Peninsula. Tang was stationed in Tokyo as a military
intelligence officer, but also served in Korea interrogating prisoners in Pusan.
As judge in civilian life, Tang was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Ninth Circuit by President Jimmy Carter in October 1977.

Clifford Uyeda, a Nisei pediatrician, was a captain in the United States Air
Force. From 1951 to 1953, he served in Korea as a medical doctor.

Private Ichiro Miyasaki, a Nisei from Rexburg, Idaho, posthumously was awarded
the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary valor in the Korean War. The Army
Reserve building in Rexburg is named in honor of Miyasaki. Five Miyasaki brothers
served in the U.S. military during either World War II or the Korean conflict.

Sources

Boston Publishing, eds. Above and Beyond: A History of the Medal of Honor
from the Civil War to Vietnam (1985).

Gall, Susan, editor. The Asian American Almanac (1995).

Jordan, Kenneth N., Sr. Forgotten Heroes: 131 Men of the Korean War
Awarded the Medal of Honor 1950–1953 (1995).

Kim, Elaine H. and Eui-Young Yu. East to America: Korean American Life (1996).

Military Intelligence Service Association of Northern California and the National
Japanese American Historical Society. The Pacific War and Peace: Americans of
Japanese Ancestry in the Military Intelligence Service, 1941–1952 (1991).